Bug Blog
It's All the Buzz: 4-H'ers Learning How to Keep Bees
Nathaniel Haddon of the Vaca Valley 4-H Club, Vacaville, is only nine years old, but he already knows more about honey bees than many adults do. He readily names the three castes: queen bee, worker...
Nathaniel Haddon, 9, of the Vaca Valley 4-H Club, Vacaville, discusses bees at the Solano County 4-H Presentation Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Beekeeper Nathaniel Haddon fielding questions about bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Solano County 4-H Presentation Day evaluators Brenda Torres (left) and Cara Kent listen attentively. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Rest in Peace, Pollinator Partner
We lost our Pollinator Partner today. Xena the Warrior Princess, a 16-year-old tuxedo cat that we rescued from the pound, crossed the Rainbow Bridge today in a local veterinarian's office. We had...
Xena the Warrior Princess checks out a monarch butterfly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
"Pollinator Partner" Xena the Warrior Princess looking at a monarch butterfly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Exhausted after a day in the sun, Xena the Warrior Princess sprawls atop a chair. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Are Culex Mosquitoes Potential Vectors of the Zika Virus?
Scientists throughout the world targeted the Zika virus, transmitted by the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, at a major symposium today in Recife, Brazil, epicenter of the Zika virus...
UC Davis chemical ecologist and mosquito researcher Walter Leal (front), confers with Constancia Ayres (far right, in black) and Rosângela Barbosa (center), faculty members in the Department of Entomology, FIOCRUZ-Recife. Both are Leal colloborators.
When Varroa Mites Hitch a Ride
Those blood-sucking varroa mites (Varroa destructor) are considered the No. 1 enemy of beekeepers. In powerful numbers and weakened colonies, they can overwhelm and collapse a hive. We remember...
A varroa mite attached to a honey bee forager. It's the reddish brown spot near the wing. The bee is foraging on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bumble bee, Bombus californicus, with a hitchhiking varroa mite. (Photo by Allan Jones, Davis)
Varroa mite on a carpenter bee. (Photo by Allan Jones, Davis)
Almond Field Days in Zamora and Lost Hills: And You're Invited
So you want to learn more about almond pollination, integrated crop pollination, blue orchard bees, navel orangeworms, wildflower plantings and solarization for wildflpwer planting success. You're...
Pollination ecologist Neal Williams (shown) and several of his lab members will be participating in the Almond Field Days. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)